BUCKHANNON — The Upshur County Recreation Park is set to host several large regional events this summer, bringing thousands of visitors to the county for mountain bike races, swim meets, a triathlon and more.
This month, the park will welcome the West Virginia Mountain Bike Association for the Upshur County Uprising on June 30. The race will be held on the Upshur County Trails, a warren of dirt tracks that loop around Buckhannon-Upshur High School and the Upshur County Recreation Park.
“We are actually part of the West Virginia Mountain Bike Association circuit now,” McCourt said. “Our trails group is expecting anywhere from 75 to 100 racers at our trails at the high school. With racers, their families and their crews, we’re talking upwards of 400 to 500 people here for the weekend.”
The race is the seventh event in a nine-race series organized by the West Virginia Mountain Bike Association. It features three categories and will begin at noon, but members of the trail community and the organizers of the race will be at the site at 9 a.m.
Read more about the Upshur Uprising by clicking here.
In July, a large regional youth swim meet is set to return to the Upshur County pool for the third year in a row.
“We’re hosting the big North Central West Virginia swimming competition again during the third weekend of July,” McCourt said. “That is 400-ish athletes, and last year we had about 1,200 spectators for the weekend. That’s 1,600 folks coming here to eat food, get gas, stuff like that. Our pool, with the parking and the availability of seating, is a big draw.”
In August, the Upshur County Recreation Park will again host a triathlon, along with a strongman and strongwoman contest. The triathlon event — set for August 10 at 10 a.m. — is actually several races that encompass individual, team and youth divisions.
For this year’s sprint triathlon, McCourt said they’ve upped the swim distance from 500 meters to 750 meters. The bike segment will remain a 15-kilometer ride to the new West Virginia National Guard armory and back, with a 5K trail run around the high school.
“We’ve added a super sprint, which is half of all the distances, plus the team race, and then we’ve added a kid’s race this year, which is a 100-meter swim, a mile-and-a-half bike ride around the high school campus — so the little ones aren’t going out on the road — and then an 800 meter-run. We’re trying to get the kids involved, and I think that’s going to be very popular.”
The pool is also in full swing for the summer, hosting parties, water aerobics and more. Register for classes and events by clicking here.
